Chairman & Area Representative - Jeff Webb, 01732 822607 [email protected]Treasurer - Vacancy! Secretary – Brenda Webb Kentishman Editor – David Barnes, 01233 712350 [email protected]Committee Members :- Alan Mobbs, 020 8337 8077 [email protected]Ted Partridge 07889 657291 [email protected]Phil Saunders 01322 614627 [email protected]Kevin Simmons 01622 687324 [email protected]Ray Tyler, 01276 63114 [email protected]It would be appreciated if members do not telephone committee members before 10:00 am or after 9:30 pm KENT AREA COMMITTEE 2011 Visit Area 4’s Website at :- www.jdc-kent.co.uk The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Kent Area Committee – no liability will be accepted in any case of dispute. KENTISHMAN magazine is available by post only for an annual sub- scription of £10 payable to’ JDC Kent Area 4 Kentishman’. New sub- scribers should send their cheque plus their name, address, email and details of the Jaguar cars they own to:- ‘Ramornie’, Warren Street Road, Charing, KENT TN27 0HL Any items for inclusion in the Kentishman should be sent to David Barnes at the above address or emailed to [email protected]Jaguar Drivers’ Club - Kent Area 4 - Regional Magazine What a terrible waste!
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Chairman & Area Representative - Jeff Webb, 01732 822607 [email protected]
Jaguar Drivers’ Club - Kent Area 4 - Regional Magazine
What a terrible waste!
2
Jeff’s Spot
Jeff Webb
The fifteen of us who went to Great Yarmouth for the week-
end away were blessed with fine sunny weather, and I think
everyone had a good time, I certainly did; even had the top
down on the XK on both Saturday & Sunday.
November’s club night on the 19th November will be our
annual mince pies & sausage rolls evening so do come
along.
The Christmas Meal on Monday 10th December at the Dog
& Bear is now open for bookings, the cost is £16-95 per
person and the meal will consist of Soup or Melon, Fol-
lowed by traditional roast Turkey with all the trimmings,
Christmas pudding, Coffee & Mints, Please book with me
as soon as possible, so I can give Ann the numbers.
Please start thinking of which shows & events you would
like to attend next year so that the new committee can get a
good start and come the AGM in January.
I hope to see as many of you as possible for the Christmas
meal as this will be my last event as your chairman.
Regards
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On the 3rd Monday of each month, members meet in a comfortable air-conditioned private function-room with it’s own bar at The Dog & Bear Hotel in Lenham (just off the A20 between Maidstone & Ashford. Meetings frequently feature guest speakers covering a wide range of sub-jects.
Novemer19th Mince pies and sausage rolls
January 21st 2013 Annual Review and election of com-
mittee.
On the 1st Tuesday of each month, members get together at a different Kentish Hostelry for a bar meal or just a social evening out. Further details from Trevor Lang Tel:01622-757816
November 6th The Plough, Taylors Lane, Trottiscliffe,
West Malling, ME19 5DR Tel 01732 82223
December 10th Christmas Dinner at the
Dog & Bear - Book early with Jeff.
January 21st 2013 Annual Review and
election of committee.
CLUB NIGHTS
PUB NIGHTS
MAIN EVENTS
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Sunday 23rd September was supposed to be a dry cloudy day until late afternoon
according to the forecast but how wrong can they be? Soon after arrival the heav-
ens opened and so did the brollies and that’s pretty much how it stayed.
Surprisingly, there were still plenty of cars to look at but the trader stalls were few
and far between. The farmers’ market was bigger and better this year and had it not
been for the weather it would have a good day out at what is always a good show.
There were far fewer visitors than in previous years and exhibitors started to leave
early including yours truly.
One amusing highlight for Brenda and me was a phone call received mid-afternoon
to tell us that the raffle ticket we bought in aid of Kent Air Ambulance was the
winner and the prize is a family photo shoot in a professional studio. I thought I’d
buy Brenda a big floppy hat and some long white gloves and I would pose with her
as her chauffeur by the Jag. as an indication that I know my place.
Thanks to Kevin for organising the event and commiserations all round. ED
3
Is a Jaguar really the
tow car of the year?
Caravanning is a peculiarly British pastime, so it seemed appropriate when Practical Cara-
van magazine recently named the Castle Bromwich-built Jaguar XF as its tow car of the
year. This news, however, was met by Telegraph readers with a certain amount of scoffing.
“Who in their right mind purchases a Jag to tow a caravan?” asked one. “And who in their
right mind with a Jaguar purchases a caravan?” countered another.
To find out I
booked a Jaguar
test car and set
off on a Great
British caravan-
ning adventure.
First stop was
Michael Jordan
Caravans in
Gomshall, Sur-
rey, where I was
hooked up with
an Abbey Ex-
pression. So, as a
caravanner, what
did I need to
know? “Just
remember to take a wider line than normal around roundabouts,” said my guide. And, with
that, we set off for a weekend in Milton Keynes.
Getting there involved hauling the Expression around the M25 and up the M1, a task the
Jaguar’s 2.2-litre diesel engine was more than equal to, with 332lb ft of torque from
2,000rpm allowing it to pick up speed with ease. Yet it was still being asked to tow some-
thing with all the aerodynamic properties of a barn, and thus felt like giving a piggyback to a
drunken friend whose movements you can’t quite predict. Fuel economy didn’t take as much
of a hammering as I thought it might, dropping about 5mpg from the figure sans caravan,
although I suspect that’s because we were driving everywhere very slowly.
When we eventually arrived in Milton Keynes I was alarmed to discover that this particular
XF was horribly sluggish off the line. Push the throttle and it would just sit there for a sec-
ond, engine revs rising as the torque converter responded. This is quite alarming when you’re
trying to join a busy roundabout with a caravan.
Also, as you can see from the picture, a Jaguar towing a caravan just looks wrong. The two
are completely disparate entities, one bought for its style and sophistication, and the other,
well, a caravan.
Telegraph article.
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On a dull Friday morning, we set off for Great Yarmouth and all was well until we were
within fifteen cars length from the booths at the Dartford Crossing where all traffic came
to a halt. We were there for about twenty minutes before continuing our journey with no
sign of what caused the hold-up but later, we learned that they had closed both tunnels at
the same time to repair potholes – some consideration for the motoring public eh? We
continued our journey, stopped for lunch at Billingford and arrived in Yarmouth around
2:30pm.
When we arrived at the hotel, our first surprise was what they meant by “plenty of room
for parking”. O.K. if we all had Minis. At reception we were greeted by a smiling Thai
lady who directed us to our room in the new Albert Wing which was reached via a rickety
lift and a rabbit-warren of passages.
Once installed in our small but adequate room, we took a stroll along the front which is
full of food outlets and slot-machine palaces and we called into the nearest pub which was
decorated in electric blue and purple and boasted karaoke evenings for the family. One
drink and back to the hotel on a dull dreary afternoon to contemplate our fate.
There were fifteen of us booked for the weekend and we met up before dinner to exchange
stories of the delays at Dartford and it turned out that we were the lucky ones being de-
layed for only twenty minutes as the traffic had backed up massively.
The hotel was owned by an Englishman whose Thai wife and one other Thai lady were the
main staff and there was much evidence of Thai culture and décor in this otherwise very
English hotel. On arrival we were given two choices for dinner and they were either cot-
tage pie or chicken salad and we had already formed our not terribly high opinion of where
we were staying. Things went downhill when we ordered our gin and tonics before dinner
to find they had no ice until it was delivered later but at £30 per night for bed, breakfast
and evening meal we could hardly complain and in any case we were in good company
and looking forward to a happy and relaxing weekend.
Dinner turned out to be fine and we all gathered in the bar afterwards for the usual chat
with David entertaining us with his party-piece whether we liked it or not.
Saturday was a new dawn with the sun shining, an excellent breakfast and our intrepid
crew ready to sample the delights of the region. Some went to the Time and Tide museum
which impressed us during a previous visit and some toured the coast while David and I
left the Jag. where it was, walked into town to tour the market and then took the bus into
Norwich using our bus passes.
The warm weather made all the difference and our trip to Norwich was wonderful. It’s
bigger than I realised with plenty to see and a nice cosmopolitan atmosphere. We called
into a proper old pub around lunchtime and then looked for somewhere for a snack but
nothing appealed. I’d read a notice in the pub that stressed the fact that they didn’t serve
food but they recommended several takeaways where we could collect our lunch to bring
back to the pub and they provided knives, forks and condiments. What a practical arrange-
ment that was and what a perfect way to eat our fish and chips?
Cont. 5
On Sunday there was the usual variety of activities during the day with some touring and
others taking boat-trips on the Broads from Wroxham but the highlight of the day was the
after-dinner entertainment provided by a singer with his karaoke kit. There was no pres-
sure on anybody to take the mike and indeed nobody was brave enough to have a go but he
was excellent. The songs he sang were from the sixties and seventies and we joined in
when we could and June provided further entertainment with a bit of hand jiving.
Home on Monday through some pretty serious rain - except for Andrea and Chris who had
family business further north - and the end of a cracking weekend.
Thanks are due to Brenda and Jeff for their research and organisation and for booking the
